Latest

The Upper Township Board of Education unanimously authorized an investigation at its Monday meeting into actions of the Ocean City School District. Read the full text of the resolution with this story at PressofAC.com.

Upper BOE wants to know why O.C. was investigating its members

The Upper Township Board of Education unanimously authorized an investigation at its Monday meeting into actions of the Ocean City School District. Read the full text of the resolution with this story at PressofAC.com.

UPPER TOWNSHIP — Who knew what and when? But most importantly, why did the Ocean City School District privately investigate certain members of the Upper Township Board of Education and administration during its investigation of former Ocean City Athletic Director Christine Lentz?

Those questions will be at the heart of an investigation authorized by the Upper Township school board at its Monday meeting, according to a resolution read aloud by Solicitor Will Donio.

“This is no way a reflection on the high school administrator nor the staff. We do know our kids go there and receive a quality education, but this is their leadership,” board President Michele Barbieri said after the unanimous vote.

Latest Video

Ocean City Superintendent Kathleen Taylor and board President Joe Clark did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Ocean City board Solicitor Mike Stanton sent a statement via email Tuesday afternoon calling the allegations false.

“The Ocean City Board of Education was dismayed to learn of false accusations made in public last night by and on behalf of the Upper Township Board of Education. To state it simply, these accusations are false. The sworn testimony about the employment investigation, referenced by the Upper Township Board of Education in its public statement, provides no support for these irresponsible claims. The Upper Township Board of Education should retract its resolution and consider this matter closed and behind us so we can move forward together, for the good of both of our communities,” Stanton wrote.

Ocean City’s use of a computer forensic company to investigate Superintendent Vincent Palmieri and board members Barbieri and Fran Newman, who sits as an Upper Township representative on the Ocean City school board, came to light in the first three days of Lentz’s trial in October, Donio said.

Lentz, of Upper Township, was acquitted earlier this month after being charged with cyber crimes and official misconduct in 2015 related to allegations she hacked the Ocean City superintendent’s email to gain an advantage on contract negotiations. In addition to teaching at Ocean City for more than 30 years, where she also served as an assistant principal, Lentz is a former member of the Upper Township Board of Education, serving from 2008 to 2012.

Donio said the investigation will look into who authorized the private investigation, when Ocean City board members knew about the investigation, what its purpose was and why the Upper Township board did not find out about the investigation until the trial.

“We have been met with varying degrees of receptiveness about that,” he told the crowd Monday. “I can tell you that this board’s charge to me is ‘find out everything.’ And we want to hear from the individuals themselves.”

Upper Township has been involved in a sending relationship with Ocean City School District for many years, with the township paying a tuition for its students to attend Ocean City High School. There are three Upper Township Board of Education members who serve on the Ocean City Board of Education, but they have limited voting rights.

The relationship over the years has been “unnecessarily strained,” Donio said, with lawsuits and public spats over certain procedures, including voting rights, payment for students who are placed out of district and school choice.

Donio said he did not know whether anyone officially informed Ocean City of the board’s decision before Monday’s vote.

“It is my belief that they are well aware we have concerns about this, which are consistent with concerns we have directly relayed to them,” he said.

Responding to a question from former Upper school board member Steve Martinelli about why Ocean City would do this, Donio said according to testimony he has listened to from the trial, the action was related to “general leaks” of information about ongoing litigation to “information as mundane as a school closure day.”

“Why that would be a cause of concern and require a forensic investigation ... is hard to fathom,” Donio said.

The middle school library where the board meeting was held was crowded Monday, with many standing in the back of the room while the board first went into executive session before coming out to take the vote.

The resolution passed unanimously, with board member Bill Holmes abstaining due to a conflict. Board member Rob Evans was not present.

The vote was met with applause and support from residents who attended the meeting.

“I am so pleased that you’re not going to just sweep it under the rug,” said Virginia Mulford, a former employee at Ocean City schools. “We need to build the family again which has been destroyed. So thank you.”

Stay informed! Sign up to receive top headlines delivered to your inbox each morning.

Text of Upper Township BOE resolution

The Upper Township Board of Education authorizes its administration and professionals to seek a full and independent investigation into shocking revelations that secret investigations referring to Upper Township Board members and its Superintendent were made at the direction of Kathleen Taylor, Superintendent of the Ocean City School District, Joe Clark the President of the Ocean City Board of Education, and/or the Ocean City Board of Education labor negotiator, the Comegno Law Group.

This secret investigation came to light in the trial and acquittal of Dr. Christine Lentz, former Athletic Director of Ocean City High School. During the trial it was revealed that Taylor, Clark and the Comegno Group directed a computer forensic consultant to secretly investigate electronic information, including information specifically referencing named Upper Township board members and the Superintendent of Upper Township.

The Upper Township Board believes that this testimony confirms that those advising and leading the Ocean City Board continue to exclude, undermine, and compromise the Upper Township board members on the Ocean City Board and the relationship between Upper Township and Ocean City.

The Upper Township Board believes the investigation must explore, among other things:

• Who authorized any consultant to authorize, direct, or assist in any investigation which included the Upper Township Board members or the Upper Superintendent;

• What was the purported justification for the investigation and why were Upper Township Board members and the Upper Superintendent a part of any investigation;

• What Taylor, Clark and the Comegno Group knew, when they knew it, and why they failed to disclose it to the entire Ocean City Board of Education, the Upper Township Board members on the Ocean City Board, or to the Upper Township Board or Superintendent;

• When the entire Ocean City Board, including the Upper Township Board members, were informed of the investigation which included the Upper Township board members and Superintendent;

• When the entire Ocean City Board of Education, including the Upper Township Board members, authorized any investigation which included the Upper Township board members and Superintendent; and

• How much did it cost the Ocean City and Upper Township taxpayers;

The Upper Township Board of Education demands the immediate termination of any relationship with any professionals who assisted in this secret investigation, and that Superintendent Taylor and President Clark attend the December 18 Upper Township Board of Education meeting and address these and any other questions from the Board or community. The Upper Township Board of Education believes that only with a full, transparent, and independent investigation, can the healing process begin, and the parents, residents, and taxpayers of Upper Township, who send more than half of the students to the Ocean City High School, rebuild confidence that their children will be treated in a fair and equitable manner. If Taylor and Clark refuse to meet with the Upper Township Board of Education, or such relationships are not terminated at the next Ocean City BOE meeting, the Board will call for the immediate resignation of Superintendent Taylor and President Clark.

I began covering South Jersey in 2008 after graduating from Rowan University with a degree in journalism. I joined The Press in 2015. In 2013, I was awarded a NJPA award for feature writing as a reporter for The Current of Hamilton Township.

Get email notifications on Claire Lowe daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

Whenever Claire Lowe posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Followed notifications

Please log in to use this feature

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.